Disclosed herein is a toner and toner process wherein the toner comprises a first lower molecular weight resin and a second higher molecular weight resin, wherein the first resin has a molecular weight that is lower than the molecular weight of the second resin. More specifically, disclosed herein is a lower cost and ecologically friendly toner composition and process comprising (a) a first lower molecular weight unbranched amorphous polyester resin comprising a polyester derived from dodecenyl succinic acid, dodecenyl succinic anhydride, or a combination thereof; wherein the first amorphous polyester is generated by the catalytic polymerization of monomers of an organic diol, an organic diacid, and dodecenyl succinic acid, dodecenyl succinic anhydride, or a combination thereof; wherein the dodecenyl succinic acid, dodecenyl succinic anhydride, or combination thereof, is present in the first amorphous polyester in an amount of from about 5 to about 15 weight percent, based on the total weight of the first amorphous polyester; (b) a second higher molecular weight amorphous polyester resin comprising a polyester derived from dodecenyl succinic acid, dodecenyl succinic anhydride, or a combination thereof, wherein the second higher molecular weight branched amorphous polyester is generated by the catalytic polymerization of monomers of an organic diol, an organic diacid, and dodecenyl succinic acid, dodecenyl succinic anhydride, or a combination thereof, and a branching agent derived from a polyacid or polyol component; wherein the dodecenyl succinic acid, dodecenyl succinic anhydride, or combination thereof is present in the second amorphous polyester in an amount of from about 5 to about 15 weight percent, based on the total weight of the second amorphous polyester; (c) a crystalline polyester resin; (d) a wax; and (e) a colorant.
A number of polyester containing toner compositions are known, including where the polyesters selected are specific amorphous, crystalline or mixtures thereof. Thus, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 7,858,285, the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference, there are disclosed emulsion/aggregation toners that include certain crystalline polyesters.
Toner compositions prepared by a number of emulsion/aggregation processes, and which toners may include certain polyesters are known as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,466,254; 7,736,832; 7,029,817; 6,830,860, and 5,593,807, the disclosures of each of these patents being totally incorporated herein by reference.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/821,624, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety, describes toner compositions that include a single amorphous polyester resin, a crystalline polyester resin, a colorant and a wax, and where the single amorphous polyester resin contains in excess of zero weight percent of dodecenyl succinic anhydride to less than 16 weight percent of dodecenyl succinic anhydride, or where the single amorphous polyester resin contains in excess of zero weight percent of dodecenyl succinic acid to less than 16 weight percent of dodecenyl succinic acid. While this approach solves certain toner performance issues such as toner blocking, a single resin design does not allow for fine tuning of other properties such as gloss and fusing performance in the final toners.
While currently available toner compositions and toner processes may be suitable for their intended purposes, a need remains for improved toners and toner processes. For example, a need remains for a toner and process that is lower cost and ecologically friendlier than current toners and processes. What is further needed is an improved toner and process providing adequate blocking performance without over plasticization of the amorphous resin. What is further needed is an improved toner and process which allows the crystalline resin to recrystallize from the amorphous resin after the toner is prepared. Thus, a toner composition and process is needed which provides, in combination, reduced cost, ecologically friendly features, good blocking performance, compatibility between the amorphous and crystalline resin without over plasticization of the amorphous resin, and adequate gloss, fusing, and cohesion (blocking) performance.
The appropriate components and process aspects of the each of the foregoing U.S. Patents and Patent Publications may be selected for the present disclosure in embodiments thereof. Further, throughout this application, various publications, patents, and published patent applications are referred to by an identifying citation. The disclosures of the publications, patents, and published patent applications referenced in this application are hereby incorporated by reference into the present disclosure to more fully describe the state of the art to which this invention pertains.